Critical properties of the Kitaev-Heisenberg model

We study critical properties of the Kitaev-Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice at finite temperatures which might describe the physics of the quasi two-dimensional compounds, Na$_2$IrO$_3$ and Li$_2$IrO$_3$. The model undergoes two phase transitions as a function of temperature. At low temperature, thermal fluctuations induce magnetic long-range order by order-by-disorder mechanism. Magnetically ordered state with the spontaneously broken $Z_6$ symmetry persists up to a certain critical temperature. We find that there is an intermediate phase between the low-temperature ordered phase and the high-temperature disordered phase. The finite-sized scaling analysis suggests that the intermediate phase is a critical Kosterlitz-Thouless phase with continuously variable exponents. We argue that the intermediate phase has been actually observed above the low-temperature magnetically ordered phase in Na$_2$IrO$_3$, and likely in Li$_2$IrO$_3$.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure

Parental investment and child health in a Yanomamö village suffering short-term food stress

The 1998 El Niño significantly reduced garden productivity in the Upper Orinoco region in Venezuela. Consequently, parents were forced to allocate food carefully to their children. Nutrition data collected from village children combined with genealogical data allowed the determination of which children suffered most, and whether the patterns of food distribution accorded with predictions from parental investment theory. For boys, three social variables accounted for over 70% of the variance in subcutaneous fat after controlling for age: number of siblings, age of the mother’s youngest child, and whether the mother was the senior or junior co-wife, or was married monogamously. These results accord well with parental investment theory. Parents experiencing food stress faced a trade-off between quantity and quality, and between investing in younger versus older offspring. In addition, boys with access to more paternal investment (i.e. no stepmother) were better nourished. These variables did not account for any of the variance in female nutrition. Girls’ nutrition was associated with the size of their patrilineage and the number of non-relatives in the village, suggesting that lineage politics may have played a role. An apparent lack of relationship between orphan status and nutrition is also interesting, given that orphans suffered high rates of skin flea infections. The large number of orphans being cared for by only two grandparents suggests that grooming time may have been the resource in short supply. Introductio

Implicit imitation in multiagent reinforcement learning

Imitation is actively being studied as an effective means of learning in multi-agent environments. It allows an agent to learn how to act well (perhaps optimally) by passively observing the actions of cooperative teachers or other more experienced agents its environment. We propose a straightforward imitation mechanism called model extraction that can be integrated easily into standard model-based reinforcement learning algorithms. Roughly, by observing a mentor with similar capabilities, an agent can extract information about its own capabilities in unvisited parts of state space. The extracted information can accelerate learning dramatically. We illustrate the benefits of model extraction by integrating it with prioritized sweeping, and demonstrating improved performance and convergence through observation of single and multiple mentors. Though we make some stringent assumptions regarding observability, possible interactions and common abilities, we briefly comment on extensions of the model that relax these

Is Uber a substitute or complement for public transit?

How Uber affects public transit ridership is a relevant policy question facing cities worldwide. Theoretically, Uber’s effect on transit is ambiguous: while Uber is an alternative mode of travel, it can also increase the reach and flexibility of public transit’s fixed-route, fixed-schedule service. We estimate the effect of Uber on public transit ridership using a difference-in-differences design that exploits variation across U.S. metropolitan areas in both the intensity of Uber penetration and the timing of Uber entry. We find that Uber is a complement for the average transit agency, increasing ridership by five percent after two years. This average effect masks considerable heterogeneity, with Uber increasing ridership more in larger cities and for smaller transit agencies. Document type: Articl